Which is the best buy? I'm thinking the GTX 260

oli_ramsay · Dec 5, 2008

If the 4870 and GTX260 are the same price then it's a really tough call! I suggest going with what's cheapest, hopefully you could pick up a 1GB 4870 for a reasonable price.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

zithe said:
You had a fluked card. It happens, but not everyone receives the same experience.

Here, to the OP:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801

Maybe so but I have also been looking around and found that lots of people have been affected by this high heat out put card . Just stating facts as I see them is all .
If you really look at it they needed to put 1 GB of RAM on the cards to get them to marginally out perform a GTX260 ! COME on Nvidia is the way to go man !

zithe · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
Maybe so but I have also been looking around and found that lots of people have been affected by this high heat out put card . Just stating facts as I see them is all .
If you really look at it they needed to put 1 GB of RAM on the cards to get them to marginally out perform a GTX260 ! COME on Nvidia is the way to go man !

And they needed to make a 216SPU card to beat the 512. It happens.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/radeon-hd-4870-review--asus/10

I'd say worry about whichever card will have more support in the future. I'd say the 4870 would. It has DX10.1 and I believe it has a lower power consumption than the 216. Don't quote me on that.

oli_ramsay · Dec 5, 2008

The 512MB outperforms the 260 by a tiny amount. I think the 1GB model is about 10% faster than the 512MB versoin at high resolutions, so I think get the 4870 1GB. Plus the antialiasing performance hit is a lot less compared to the GTX200 series.

However the 9800GX2 beats them both... just depends on how much you are willing to spend.

bigtye · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
COME on Nvidia is the way to go man !

A little bit of bias perhaps, and yes, it is based on your experience with the 4850, however this does not translate to all card designs by ATI.

As to driver stability, I have had both ATI and Nvidia cards and drivers for both have screwed up on me, as well as been excellent. I got an ATI card after my nvidia card gave me so much grief, now my ATI card is annoying me with driver issues.

To op, be happy with whatever you go with, both 4870 and 260 can represent excellent performance for what they cost. You can always get a bad result with either, but as you have done, research your card, find the price you are happy with and then pull the trigger and choose.

You kind of have to let go of getting the perfect card, and just make the best decision you can. If don't, any card you buy may struggle to meet the expectation of a perfect gaming experience.

Tye

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

We could do this all night long and still not reach a consensus .
I vote the GTX260 others say that the HD4870 . I personaly would not go with an ATI card to me it is just not worth the risk . and from the reviews I have seen Toms hardware , Xbit labs the facts are that the HD4870 512 is out performed by the GTX260 but the HD4870 1 GB card only marginally beats the GTX260 and well we can all pull this all night long . I have had personal experience with the HD4850 and I say it is nothing at all , I have personal experience with the GTX260 and all I can say is WOW !
I say go with your gut and get what you think will make you happy . In the end you are the only one that can make yourself happy with the choice you make . NO one can do it for you .

HossHuge · Dec 5, 2008

HD4850 1gb + after market cooler + overclock it = best value

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

HossHuge said:
HD4850 1gb + after market cooler + overclock it = best value

And a ton of hassle ! :banghead:

HossHuge · Dec 5, 2008

And a ton of hassle !

I can oly speak for my own exp. I have never had a problem. Sure the GTX260 is faster, but is it a better buy?

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

HossHuge said:
I can only speak for my own exp. I have never had a problem. Sure the GTX260 is faster, but is it a better buy?

REALLY ?? You really want ME of all people to answer that ???? :slap:

OK yes OH HELL YES IT IS !
For the money the performance for the WOW factor YES the GTX260 IS WAY BETTER IN MY BOOK! :rockout:

But again I am bias !

zithe · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
I say go with your gut and get what you think will make you happy . In the end you are the only one that can make yourself happy with the choice you make . NO one can do it for you .

trickson said:
And a ton of hassle !

Getting mixed messages.

I'll just go with the first statement.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

Some thing to ponder .
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd4870-1024_16.html#sect0

You can also check out my thread here as well .
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=77920

proletariandan · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
Some thing to ponder .
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-hd4870-1024_16.html#sect0

You can also check out my thread here as well .
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=77920

Was just about to post a link to that exact set of benchmarks. IMO the 260/216 doesn't seem worth much extra $, so if you can find an old 260/192 I would pick that up. It holds its own against the 4870 to say the least, and uses about 25w less at idle, which adds up if you leave your PC on a lot.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

proletariandan said:
Was just about to post a link to that exact set of benchmarks. IMO the 260/216 doesn't seem worth much extra $, so if you can find an old 260/192 I would pick that up. It holds its own against the 4870 to say the least, and uses about 25w less at idle, which adds up if you leave your PC on a lot.

Thank You !! :respect:

johnspack · Dec 5, 2008

Get the best folder! Go 260!

Wile E · Dec 5, 2008

At 1920x1200 resolution, either a 1GB 4870, or the GTX260. I would go for the ATI personally, as I believe it will have a longer useful lifespan. Not only that, but performance of the 4870 is better when AA is used.

As far as drivers, nVidia updates betas a lot, but tends to lag in WHQL drivers. Neither brands' drivers are necessarily better than the other. They each have their own set of issues. (This is from experience, I went from a 2900 to an 8800GT to this 4850. Both companies have their driver issues.)

ShadowFold · Dec 5, 2008

I love the AA performance of my 4850. 4x AA with no performance hit on pretty much all games

phanbuey · Dec 5, 2008

kids that was a 4850 X2 w/ 2gb of ram... not a 4850... i have 260 sli i know that theyre great cards but one won't hold a candle to a 4850 X2... so grab the x2 for $354 and OC it!

Wile E · Dec 5, 2008

phanbuey said:
kids that was a 4850 X2 w/ 2gb of ram... not a 4850... i have 260 sli i know that theyre great cards but one won't hold a candle to a 4850 X2... so grab the x2 for $354 and OC it!

He said his budget is under $200.

Off topic: Love the sig. Carl, ftmfw!!! lol.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

phanbuey said:
kids that was a 4850 X2 w/ 2gb of ram... not a 4850... i have 260 sli i know that theyre great cards but one won't hold a candle to a 4850 X2... so grab the x2 for $354 and OC it!

Yeah ? Well lets see IMHO you are taking a dual GPU card and one with 2GB of RAM and comparing it to a single GPU card with 892MB of RAM , Is this right ? If so then I say for the money and the VALUE then the GTX260 is the winner hands down ! With this analogy it is like taking a quad core CPU and pitting against the dual core ! You have the GTX260 in SLI and you would get the X2 HD4850 ? What ? Sounds like you made the wrong choice then ? From EVERY thing I have seen the GTX260 is a solid card that holds it's own against all ATI cards !
Best bang for the buck IMHO . Looks like ATI has to keep slapping the GPU's and RAM piling then on one board to keep up with Nvidia to me ! Keep staking them one ATI it is the only way ! Maybe you can put 10 GPU's an 80GB's of ram on that card ? and all that heat any one here do a Google search as of late about the HD4850 / HD4870 heat issues ? you should !

ShadowFold · Dec 5, 2008

trickson said:
Yeah ? Well lets see IMHO you are taking a dual GPU card and one with 2GB of RAM and comparing it to a single GPU card with 892MB of RAM , Is this right ? If so then I say for the money and the VALUE then the GTX260 is the winner hands down ! With this analogy it is like taking a quad core CPU and pitting against the dual core ! You have the GTX260 in SLI and you would get the X2 HD4850 ? What ? Sounds like you made the wrong choice then ? From EVERY thing I have seen the GTX260 is a solid card that holds it's own against all ATI cards !
Best bang for the buck IMHO . Looks like ATI has to keep slapping the GPU's and RAM piling then on one board to keep up with Nvidia to me ! Keep staking them one ATI it is the only way ! Maybe you can put 10 GPU's an 80GB's of ram on that card ? and all that heat any one here do a Google search as of late about the HD4850 / HD4870 heat issues ? you should !

Who cares if its dual GPU? Its still better bang for the buck. And what heat issues? They are rated to operate up to like 110C.

lemonadesoda · Dec 5, 2008

If you want to play GTA4 then get the GTX260. It has a larger memory map 898MB than the 9800 series 512 or 512x2. And better than 512MB 4850/70. Only a 4870 1GB would be a fair competitor to the GTX260, BUT, IMO, the GTX260 offers you CUDA and slightly lower heat/power requirement. In my books that's a win.

And CUDA might be fun at University

QED.

trickson · Dec 5, 2008

ShadowFold said:
Who cares if its dual GPU? Its still better bang for the buck. And what heat issues? They are rated to operate up to like 110C.

Well I do I would not want some thing running at 110c in my case that is high enough to melt the solder ! And plastic parts on the mobo . :eek:

And comparing a dual GPU to a single GPU is just moot , If it takes a dual GPU card to perform 10% better than a single GPU card then that speaks volumes to me . I care . and for the best BANG for the buck the GTX260 is the only way to go IMHO. I care that is why ! :slap:

phanbuey · Dec 5, 2008

ooohhh under $200 would have to go to the 260 then, they OC like mad.

BloodTotal · Dec 5, 2008

Okay guys, thanks all for input

I stand at this decision

either the 4870, the GTX 260, or the 9800 GX 2

-----------

I can get the 4870 for $300

I can get the GTX 260 for $300

and I found a used GX2 for $225

------------------

dilemas:

- does the gx2 overheat?

- does the 4870 overheat?

- is the 260 better than the gx2 (on some benchies I even see the gx2 overpower the GTX 280)

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Which is the best buy? I'm thinking the GTX 260

oli_ramsay

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

zithe

oli_ramsay

bigtye

New Member

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

HossHuge

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

HossHuge

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

zithe

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

proletariandan

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

johnspack

Here For Good!

Wile E

Power User

ShadowFold

New Member

phanbuey

Wile E

Power User

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

ShadowFold

New Member

lemonadesoda

trickson

OH, I have such a headache

phanbuey

BloodTotal

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